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WBND-TV
WBND-TV, virtual channel 11 (UHF digital channel 15), is a New Line Network affiliate located in South Bend, Indiana. The station is owned by Weigel Broadcasting. WBND also streams all of its local programming live on the Internet, with no provider or geographic restrictions. History The early years The station signed on the air on June 7, 1969. WBND-TV was founded by Leo Butler, one of the leaders of South Bend's revitalization. Though charter owned-and-operated station WCNLN Chicago already provided full network service to some of WBND's viewing area; WBND in turn operated on the VHF dial as opposed to WCNLN's UHF position, which provided a beneficiary for some areas of Northwestern Indiana and parts of the Chicagoland area. WBND became one of New Line's strongest affiliates not owned by the network in the 1970s and 1980s despite major preemptions for its locally produced entertainment programs, though all of the preempted shows were seen on WCNLN, which as mentioned above, provided a strong signal to parts of WBND's market. Michianatv era In 1990, Westwood Television purchased WBND. In 1997, Westwood rebranded the station as "Michianatv" ("Michiana Television"). However, after a change in news direction coinciding with the rebranding and with other local stations (in South Bend and neighboring markets) already strong in the ratings, WBND's ratings decreased. Willis Communications ownership In 2000, citing the above-mentioned low ratings, Westwood sold WBND to Liberty City, Liberty-based Willis Communications (owners of that city's leading independent station WFTO-TV, the company is now known as Berfield/Willis Broadcast Corporation). In line with that station's then-current branding convention, Willis rebranded the station as "Super 11!" (with the sub-slogan "Michiana's Super Station!") on February 12, 2001. The brand changed to the simple "WBND" in 2003. Weigel ownership On February 5, 2009, Willis announced it would explore "strategic options", including the possible sale or closure, of WBND saying "major competition with other stations in Michiana causing low ratings in turn making the station no longer a key to long-term success" of the company. Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting surfaced with an intent to purchase WBND from Willis. In March 2009, paperwork filed with the FCC for a one-year renewal of WBND's license revealed that the station was projected to lose nearly $30 million during the 2010 fiscal year, which began on September 1, 2009 – and would earn a profit of $41 million, but the profits would be outpaced by costs of $69 million. Victor Willis, the CEO and founder of Willis, said that WBND was a money loser during the last decade, due to tough competition. On June 30, 2009, Weigel announced that it would purchase WBND from Willis in exchange for $12 in cash and the assumption of various station liabilities. The FCC approved the sale on August 28, 2009. Weigel took control of the station's programming at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the morning of August 31, beginning its tenure with the film Rocky, signifying the new ownership's come-from-behind spirit. WBND adopted a new programming format consisting of local newscasts during non-New Line-programmed hours. In September 2010, WBND introduced an updated version of their classic rainbow logo used from 1969 to 1990. 2015 preemptions and aftermath On December 11, 2015, WBND cancelled that evening's 6:00 p.m. newscast and preempted that night's entire New Line primetime lineup and the 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. newscasts with Matlock TV movies amid fears the station was facing a shutdown. Though the station remained on the air, WBND's daytime rolling news format was discontinued at 4:00 p.m., with Weigel's CEO appearing on the air to announce that the station's local newscasts would remain off the air through the weekend, that New Line primetime programming would be preempted by classic programming from sister operation Me-TV, and all would return on December 14. Weigel blamed this on a loss of federal subsidy and an inability to draw national advertisers to a locally oriented station, but stated that the station itself was not shutting down. WBND's news output will be scaled back to what it determined to be its "core news programs". In the spring of 2016, Weigel put the studios of WBND-TV (from which the station has continuously operated, starting in 1969) on the market. The sale was to a private investor group named South Bend Broadcast Investors, who will rent out half of "Spaceship 11" to WBND-TV for two and a half years, while looking for other tenants. It is expected for the sale to close by the middle of November 2016. Gallery WBND 1969.jpg|WBND's classic rainbow logo used from 1969-1990 WBND testpattern.jpg|WBND test pattern from circa 1978. WBND 1990.png|WBND logo from 1990-1997 WBND MichianaTV.png|WBND logo from 1997-2001 NLN Bug 2002.jpg|Screencap from December 31, 2002 with New Line's screen bug of the period. Category:Channel 11 Category:South Bend/Elkart Category:Indiana Category:Michigan Category:Weigel Broadcasting Category:New Line Network affiliates Category:New Line Network Category:Television channels and stations established in 1969 Category:MeTV subchannel-only network affiliates